


Seeing Without Sight

by PerfectlyHopeless



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Force Training, Gen, Miraluka Sith Warrior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 17:51:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17084927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerfectlyHopeless/pseuds/PerfectlyHopeless
Summary: There's more than one way to see, and Rulka will teach Jaesa how.





	Seeing Without Sight

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this mostly as a writing exercise, just getting a little headcanon scene out of my head. I hope you enjoy <3

* * *

 

Jaesa was one of the only people Rulka trusted completely. Of her crew, Vette made a close second due to their friendship. Pierce was third, his soldier-like loyalty making him a faithful follower. Broonmark was a pawn, but a useful one.

Quin, unfortunately, had lost Rulka's trust the moment he betrayed her. She kept him around for sex and so she didn't have to fly her ship herself, even though he routinely endeavored to prove himself to her. Rulka kept him at arm's length emotionally. 

Jaesa, however, was nothing but a devoted acolyte and friend to Rulka, curious about the way her Master toed the line of Light and Dark without totally falling in either direction. Rulka always indulged her and whatever questions or plots needed her attention.

The apprentice's curiosity kept the two occupied even after their training for the day had concluded. 

“Master, may I ask a personal question?” she asked, a bit of unease radiating from her. 

Rulka didn't make the effort to turn her face towards Jaesa, nodding as she spoke, “You may.”

“I've never seen you without your mask. Why do you wear it?”

The question was unexpected, but not unreasonable. Many Sith wore masks of some kind, or ornate helmets to add to an intimidating visage. At a glance Rulka was unintimidating, but she'd crafted the half mask made of bleached and carved bone herself, teardrop shaped beads dangling from either side that she'd learned were the same striking red as her hair. It stayed fixed to her face using small magnets just beneath her skin and hid the key feature she was missing that would have made her look just as human as any other. 

“Why do you believe I wear it?” Rulka asked in kind. “You may use your abilities on me.”

Jaesa nodded and concentrated, her hands clasped as a focus. “I sense secrecy. But also truth. You use it to make others aware of who you are?”

Rulka's lips tugged up ever so slightly. “Very close. Jaesa, do you think that I am human?”

“Not quite,” she admitted. “I thought that the feeling I had was just something within the Force.”

Her hand carefully took hold of the mask, tugging it from its holdings. She heard Jaesa at audibly gasp at the sight of her. Rulka had heard that the sight of miralukan without their masks was unsettling to others, skin covering eye sockets that evolution had left behind. 

“You're miraluka, aren't you?” Jaesa asked, continuing when Rulka nodded, “I've heard of your people. Force users that use their connection to see.”

“Precisely,” Rulka said, replacing her mask and feeling more comfortable with it on. 

“I've never heard of one of your people becoming Sith,” Jaesa said. 

“It's not common, no,” she replied. “The Dark side corrupts the minds of those of us who rely upon Force sight. I heard tales of the hallucinations that crept in, sometimes driving them to kill loved ones in fits of madness.”

Jaesa paled at this, not that Rulka could tell. “Is that why you keep to the Light?”

“Mostly,” she admitted, knowing she might be breaking her apprentice's heart to know that there truly was no agenda for her. It wouldn't deter Jaesa from her own path, however. “Having balance is comfortable for me. Being Sith allows me freedom, even if it means being called upon to do things that are unsettling.”

“You wouldn't make a very good Jedi,” Jaesa confirmed. “You're driven by your passion and emotion.”

“Yes, and my temper would likely have caused them to cast me out regardless,” Rulka chuckled. 

“I've seen your temper,” she said, softer. “You usually save it for those who deserve it.”

“Usually,” Rulka echoed, knowing she was right. “I've also shown mercy to those who didn't.” 

Jaesa nodded. “Thank you.”

Rulka's brows pinched in the middle to convey confusion, something she'd picked up years ago. “What for?”

“For…” She paused, as though figuring that out herself. “Everything.”

A tender smile touched Rulka's face. “Of course, Jaesa. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask.”

“Yes, Master,” she said, bowing her head respectfully. “Can I ask how it works? Your Force sight?”

Rulka smiled. “My people are in tune to the Force in a unique way, though with training anyone sensitive to it might learn. In fact…” She undid the tie belting her dark robes, leaning forward and tying it over her apprentice’s eyes. Jaesa allowed it and relaxed into it. 

“The Force moves through everything. You. Me. The walls of the ship. Even my bed and sheets. It's all about picking up on the ripples that go through the space around you. Think of it as... Force echolocation,” Rulka said. “You can sense my presence before you, yes?”

“Of course, Master,” Jaesa said.

“Pretend that you've never seen me before. Focus on how the Force moves through me. Let it form a picture in your mind.”

Brows furrowed as though to aid her concentration, Jaesa getting slightly frustrated before sighing. “This isn't easy.”

“I know it isn't,” Rulka said calmly. “Remember, I've done this my whole life and do it on instinct. You won't be able to walk about blindfolded after only a few minutes of practice.”

“I can almost make out the shape of you,” she said. “There aren’t colors.”

“There won't be,” she said. “Don't let it discomfort you. It's just a new way of seeing the same place you've been in time and again. Can you feel the walls?”

Her apprentice nodded again. “Yes.”

“Can you see them?”

Jaesa was quiet as she went to work forming the picture in her mind. “Almost…”

Rulka smiled. “Good. We’ll start here. Create the space in your mind. The walls around you and me before you. The details don’t need to matter as much, not right now. They’re only a distraction.”

She took Jaesa’s quiet as a good sign, the other girl’s chest rising and falling with each steady breath. Jaesa’s head suddenly perked up. “I can see you.”Her smile became a grin and she moved her hand in front of Jaesa’s face, chuckling as her apprentice followed the movement instinctively with her head. “It’s like watching something move through the shadows.”

“Nothing will be able to hide from you in the shadows again, if you would like to make this a part of our training?”

Jaesa eagerly nodded her head. “Yes, please.”

Rulka nodded once, still smiling. “Then let’s continue.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and constructive criticism is encouraged here, and I'd be honored to get feedback. Otherwise, I hope you have a good day!


End file.
